Aberdeen firm Faroe Petroleum has struck oil at the Novus exploration well in the Norwegian Sea – but warned it would need to link up with other finds in the region to realise its potential.
The firm today confirmed the exploration well, which it operates with a 30% interest, had struck a reservoir with up to 15million barrels of oil equivalent.
Faroe said the find was unlikely to be of commercial size on its own, due to the presence of a large gas cap in the reservoir, however there was scope with nearby de-risked prospects to develop a commercial scheme with a combination of wells.
The Novus prospect is located around 9km south of the producing Heidrun oil field.
In August, Faroe farmed down its interest in the licence form 50% to 30% to manage the cost exposure of the well. The other partners in the licence are Centrica, Skagen, Spike Exploration and Concedo.
“The well confirms the robustness of our geophysical model and the team’s ability, and there is real potential for Novus to have future commercial value in combination with a discovery from one of the identified and de-risked prospects and leads in the immediate vicinity,” said chief executive Graham Stewart.
“Elsewhere in Norway, the exploration campaign continues, following the significant Snilehorn discovery announced in November 2013, with the current drilling of the Butch East well (Faroe 15%), located close to the producing Ula, Tambar and Gyda oil fields.”